It's time for Merlin to sell Alton or Thorpe. Their monopoly has lasted too long and done too much damage.
Yeah, this. Lack of competition seems to breed complacency. It seems like Merlin's monopoly in the sector has removed the push for improvement, to get an edge over competitors. Why spend money on innovation if you have no competitors?
The amusement park business is costly to establish oneself in, and it takes years to build up a level where one can compete with large parks who's had years if not decades to get a good line-up of rides and themed areas. Merlin can sleep easy, knowing that nobody will get an edge on them overnight. The only real competitors to big Merlin parks are other big Merlin parks (and possibly BPB? It's independent and big, but also quite far away from the popolous Greater London area). Indeed, nobody beats Merlin in the UK amusement park market. But that's because nobody else seems to be trying either. Merlin is number one no matter what they do, so why bother to improve? It's not like people have anywhere else to go (for the record, I'm seeing the same with TusenFryd).
Or, well, they do. The usual question is "Will people go visit Alton Towers, or Park X?". Now it's "Will people go visit Alton Towers, or not go to a park at all?" Considering the cost of alternative A, and the diminished experience they have to offer, alternative B almost seems like the favourable one here. That does not bode well, neither for the Towers nor the industry in general.